Lanzarote - a week with Shye and Eliana

 Another week has passed, and with it the feeling that there is not enough time…
Sounds weird, I find myself surprised and smiling. how does it happen? Some have retired, stayed in Israel, live more or less the same, are missing 8+ hours of work a day, and report being busier than ever.
We retired to another life, meant to be with lots of free time, and it just fills up unnoticed. Between trips, social interactions (abundant), boat work, barely finding time to write ..
I forced myself to sit for a moment, and sum up a week laden with events, before the next one begins, and the new events will obscure the previous ones.
I told about the surprise that Shye and Eliana made for us in the previous post. The visit is successful for all of us. Spending time together but also separately, great dynamics. Yesterday they went out for a few days outside the boat, it is not yet clear when they will return, from a phone call now it sounds like they are having a lot of fun.
Their visit began with a joint trip to the coast off the Costa Blanca, in the south of the island. From the very unattractive town (kind of one big resort), half an hour walk to a lovely beach, this time white sand, not empty and isolated like the black one where Udi and I visited on a previous trip. We found a beautiful and quiet rocky corner, a beautiful marine cave and settled down. We  also stayed on the white sand, and returned to the boat.

We thought on the way to look for a particular winery, the wine from which we sipped with great pleasure the previous evening. The attempt failed, but there is no doubt that on the subject of wine and wineries we will have to devote time, and equip Ester. The wine here is simply excellent. Interesting flavors we did not know.
Growing vines here, and in agriculture in general, is an interesting topic in itself. As I described in the previous post, the island is completely dry and especially windy. A few millimeters of rain, the weather is stable, and the winds are also stable - blowing almost constantly. To grow something here you have to be a "Buddhist farmer". If you do not give each and every plant personal attention, it just will not work. Part of the matter is that each vine has its own dimple and wall. Enormous plots, volcanic soil (tuff, like the one bought with a lot of money in nurseries). Stone walls in half of the threshing floor around each vine, as protection from the wind and collecting some of the moisture that comes with the passing clouds, which usually do not rain, but do bring moisture with them. Hard to believe, but it works. And perhaps all this form of growth + the minerals in the special soil, are what give the wine its special taste.

In the meantime, Shye and Eliana get to know the "pirates" and as we expected, the connection was immediate. A joint dinner of chicken curry + vegetarian curry from the wonderful Chili cuisine, with my modest addition, fresh ravioli with homemade pesto (my basil continues to turn green), received with pleasure, lots of beer and wine, the atmosphere is warm and happy. We, the elders, retire, but it turns out that the celebration continues even without us, and more and more join, move to another boat and continue to celebrate. We are happy with Shye and Eliana, who are also experiencing a vacation of their own, and do not seem to be bored.
After a day of recovery from the festivities, Shye and Eliana pack up and set off. We go on a visit to the Cactus Garden, which is one of the "must-see" sites for tourists in Lanzarote. Does not sound exciting to me, and I'm afraid of tourist congestion, but there is no choice, after all we are tourists here.
Surprise! Not just because of the cacti, but the whole complex, designed by a genius architect (César Manrique), a Lanzarotian who spent many years outside of it, and returned to it with a unique building style and design. Apart from the architectural influence, and perhaps more importantly, managed to pass some municipal laws that preserve the special character of the place: Low construction - no buildings exceeding 2 floors, except for an ugly hotel built before the law came out to convey. In addition, billboards must not be hung! Only when it is gone, you notice how much it has taken over our landscape in cities, on the roads, reminding every moment, that what drives the world is money. Because he cared about the destruction of the island because of the tourism that grew stronger here, on the contrary, he increased the number of tourists because of these laws, which preserve the unique character of the place. Much of the new construction is influenced by its style, all the houses are painted white, not extravagant, the tourist areas are separated from the countryside. In short, I fell in love with Lanzarote and tasted just the tip. There are more weeks to enjoy the island bit by bit. We got into a sort of routine of 2-3 days getting out of the boat to visit sites and hiking trails, the rest, on and off, housework. What we call "boat days."
Back in the cactus garden, I finally understood what Jonathan Lahav (Timurim) understood at the age of 13, when he set up a cactus greenhouse in the backyard, and worked on variety and reproduction (splitting). I could not stop taking pictures. Now let's see how to select up to 10 images from maybe a hundred:

Even the entrance to the bathroom is designed

And I even managed to "cheat" on my fellow divers That it's coral ...

Carefully measured

Well ... maybe a little over ten ...

After the cactus garden we thought of going to another site, one of the most famous on the island, also Manrick's work, but I felt unable to contain any more beauty that day, and we decided to return to the boat. Each departure from the boat is a journey in itself, which combines a bicycle, a bus, sometimes hitch hiking, a stop at a restaurant you already know on the way, and of course back to Siesta, even if at 4-5 in the afternoon. We have no choice we are in Spain…
A Saturday market, and some "home" shopping led us to the next interesting meeting. We went back to Bar Andalusia which has become our home restaurant (tapas), to book a table, and leave some of the shopping. Outside sat a woman, about 30-40 years old with a Spanish guitar and a rough voice that only Spanish singers have. The Andalusian-style songs, some of which we know, are performed by David Broza. charming! We left to make a few more arrangements, before the stores close at four, and returned to the table we ordered. Thankfully, she's still there. Since she saw that we were back, she joined the table, and gave us a "private performance" and dedicated one of the love songs to Udi:

Sandra sings a love song to Udi ...

For those who want to get to the bar is worth it!

Before we said goodbye to her, I asked where she could be seen performing. Turns out next time, tomorrow, at the marina bar. We of course settle in, right in our backyard. This time the audience is different, evening time, and still the experience is exciting. At the end of the show we exchanged phones so she could update me on upcoming shows.

The following video is limited to over the age of 16 and for those with a strong heart ... 

Another lovely day trip. This time in the northern part of the island, near the high volcano on the island called by the popular name today… Corona! Once again the unique agriculture and spectacular views of the cliffs that fall into the sea and the small island to the north, La Graciosa, to which we will sail in a few days.

Agriculture in the shade of (mountain) Corona that is slowly covered with a veil of cloud ...

The corona is covered in fog , live broadcast

For those who want to hike beautyful  routes signs. Lots of interesting information along the way Mainly about geological phenomena. Not boring..

Sunday - Hunting Day ...

It is not clear to us what they are hunting

Today we said goodbye to the pirates, Paula got off the boat, at least for now, and the crew (Chili and Thomas) had to change their identity… Today the "scientists" they host on the boat arrive… Shower, comb their hair and wear team shirts! No more half-naked body, paint and grease, cheers and shouts, and bell-ringing. With these guests they will wander around various sites in the Canaries for two weeks, and collect samples from the sea. We already understood that we would meet again later. The sea is great, but the wanderers in it wander in the footsteps of the wind, in the same directions and in the same seasons.

farewell to beautiful Paula.

farewell dinner on Ester

An insight that came to me following Tomer's question, have we become "bourgeois yachtsmen sitting in marinas." Suddenly the token fell that there are no such here. we moor in the marina, as there are no protected bays, but not really bourgeois. A different character of sailors from most of those who roam the Mediterranean. No more motor boats, no more charter boats, with people dressed in white or at most blue and white stripes. All the boats around are Ester style, of real sailors. The boat is not measured by the level of pinion and lightning, but by the type of equipment installed on it. There are no "naked" boats. All with means of creating energy, solar and electricity, all sail boats, because otherwise it is impossible to travel the world. In short, the boat is mostly measured by the equipment, many of which are "improvements" by the sailors, and the amount of experience, how many years at sea and how many oceans you have already known. Basically people who are more like us, limited budget, adventure seekers, eager to meet and hear stories about the big world. Everyone busy preparing the boats, learning the weather and routes, in preparation for the next cruise.
Shye and Eliana are seen a little. They had already met a cute bunch of Italians, who came for coffee on the boat. They travel with them, spend evenings, with us in the mornings, until they move. Tomorrow we go out for three days on a small island, where you can moor in the bay (without a marina). I miss jumping into the sea.